“The
savvy boat shopper dreams of finding a turnkey
yacht for sale by a retired professional sailor
with a lifetime of experience and nothing better to do than pour an absurd
amount of time, money, labor and love into his
personal dreamboat for 10 years.
Silverheels is one of those rare finds, an
uncommonly well-conceived, professionally
upgraded live-aboard cruising sailboat, full of
common sense improvements and smart innovations
- and she's already cruising!”

This famous
Pearson 424 has appeared repeatedly in SAIL,
Cruising World and Blue Water Sailing magazines
during the past decade, featured in stories of
her cruising adventures and in articles
illustrating some of the scores of upgrades,
many unique, made to her by her owner/captain,
Tor Pinney, author of “Ready for Sea! How to
Outfit the Modern Cruising Sailboat” (Sheridan
House). Between 2007 and the present, Tor has
upgraded or replaced all of Silverheels’
systems and most of her equipment, tricking
her out for long-term liveaboard cruising,
sometimes in very creative ways. Check out the
refit list. It is extraordinary.

click to
enlarge

The Pearson 424 is a modern American classic
with many circumnavigations and countless ocean
passages logged. Safe, seaworthy, spacious,
comfortable, fast, dry and easily single-handed,
with a cockpit that actually seats 8 adults
comfortably! So far, Silverheels has only
cruised through the Caribbean.

Silverheels spent her first 15 years on
the Great Lakes, pampered with fresh water,
short seasons and light usage. Her 2nd owner
brought her to Florida, took her over to the
Bahamas & back once, but otherwise never cruised her.
The present, 3rd owner bought her (instead of
some other Pearson 424) because she was
structurally like a boat less than half her age,
worthy of the time and money he intended to
invest in her.

That was Christmas, 2006. Since then,
Silverheels has been continually
renovated, upgraded, modified and outfitted for long-term
liveaboard cruising
by Tor
Pinney, lifelong cruiser and sailing writer, author of the book,
"Ready for Sea! -
How to Outfit the Modern Cruising Sailboat," and
scores of articles in Cruising World, SAIL, Blue
Water Sailing and most other boating magazines
worldwide. During the
past 10 years, Silverheels has been
featured in dozens of articles illustrating some
of the many innovative improvements made to her.

click to enlarge

Captain Pinney converted this legendary Bill
Shaw designed, Pearson-built classic into his
ideal live-aboard cruising sailboat based on
150,000 nautical miles logged under sail during
a lifetime at sea. Silverheels is truly something
special.

Here are just a few of the scores of
modifications that make this unique Pearson 424
stand out even among her illustrious sister
ships:

Seller’s Comments: Silverheels is a clean,
handsome, well-maintained seagoing vessel that
any cruising sailor can feel proud to own.
However, prospective buyers should not come
expecting a yacht club show boat. The original
gel coat on the hull is in very good condition
for its age, but the deck gel coat shows wear in
half-a-dozen spots. A fussy owner might paint it. Also, I
don’t varnish. Exterior teak is naturally grey
and I’ve always preferred that traditional look.
I've cleaned and oiled
Silverheels’ teak every 6 months since I’ve
had the boat, so the wood is at least as healthy
as it was when I got her, but a couple of weeks
after oiling teak returns to its natural
grey color. Another owner might prefer to
varnish or paint it; a matter of taste and
priorities.

Belowdecks, Silverheels is very clean. Even the
deep bilge sump is painted white and the ½” of
water in it is perfectly clear. The engine is
likewise white-glove clean, the interior teak is oiled
regularly, and the head doesn’t smell.
That’s just the way I keep a boat. On the less
lovely
side, the portlight lens tinting is overdue to
be renewed, and a new owner might (or might not)
choose to reupholster the settee cushions.
They're serviceable, with easy-to-clean
Sunbrella slip covers, but the
natural cotton duck
base fabric shows dirt and is awkward to clean.

Accommodations

Seller’s Comments: Silverheels’ interior teak
was wood-stained dark, probably as an original
factory option. When I bought her, the interior
cushions were covered in a very dark blue
fabric, and many flat surfaces belowdecks were
factory-finished with a hideous mustard-color
Formica, a Pearson favorite at that time. The
combination made the interior dark and
depressingly uninviting, so I set out to lighten
it. I scrubbed and bleached the teak, which
helped a little. Natural cotton duck cushion
covers added light and warmth, but turned out to
be an impractical fabric, which I’ve improved
upon somewhat with ivory-white Sunbrella slip
covers. I also painted many of the flat surfaces
a warm off-white.

click
to enlarge

This, offset by ample natural teak trim,
cabinet doors and bulkheads, creates a bright
yet cozy, comfortably traditional interior. Many
Herreshoff yachts were done this way, and
Pearson’s clean
New England joiner work welcomes
the offsetting contrast. (BTW, Silverheels
was built just a couple of miles from the
Herreshoff museum in Bristol, Rhode Island.)

The teak & holly cabin sole is genuine ¼” planking over
high-grade marine plywood. And for live-aboard
cruisers, there are lots & lots of deep storage
lockers throughout the boat!

Opposite
– Aft to starboard, a 2nd large
hanging locker and shelves, and the distinctive,
surprisingly useful Pearson 424 mid-ship salon
companionway, ideally positioned for quick
access to the side deck & foredeck, and for
bringing bulk provisions directly into the
galley. This “extra” companionway also lets in
lots of fresh air and light, and enables crew to
come and go without passing through the
captain’s cabin aft. You quickly learn to love
it.

Cockpit
– One of the Pearson 424’s most outstanding
features is the generous cockpit, which
comfortably seats 6 or 8 adults for socializing.
On Silverheels, a large, custom box table
sits between the mizzen mast and the Edson
steering pedestal, housing a jumbo 20-lb.
propane tank. Lewmar 48 self-tailing primary
sheet winches have been relocated aft to enable
single-handed tacking and also permit safe passage to
and from the side decks (which the
factory-standard positioning emphatically does
not). Two additional 6-lb LPG
tanks, hooked up and ready to use, are in a
sealed locker beneath the port aft corner of the
cockpit seats.

Dodger/Bimini
– Silverheels’ unique hardtop spray dodger and
bimini tops were featured in the October 2015
issue of Cruising World magazine. The envy of
the fleet, these custom, maintenance-free
additions look great and will last indefinitely.
Two custom sliding hatches and two custom
zippered hatches in the bimini top give access
to the mizzen boom for furling and reefing.
There’s a Sunbrella connector piece, new in
2015. The dodger Strataglass was replaced new in
2016.

Pricing

Seller’s Comments: There are lots of Pearson
424’s on the market in the $60,000 to $90,000
price range, and even less. A conscientious buyer would do well
to inspect as many of them as possible before
considering Silverheels. Then review the information presented here.
If you
don't see the additional value in this boat - or
if you just prefer working on boats rather than
cruising them - then by all
means buy the cheaper boat. That's what I
originally did, and I
kind of enjoyed those 4 years in the boat yard
and the
±7,500 man-hours I've put into
renovating & outfitting this good old ketch
(at the probable
net pay rate of minus 6¢ an hour). Nor do I
regret a penny of the additional $100,000 I’ve
put into the boat since originally buying her
“for a great price” 10 years ago. That's because
when I add up my real time value, even at a
very modest $20/hour, plus materials, I actually got
to go cruising on a $300,000 Pearson 424!

Seriously,
if you want to rebuild a boat and you have
unlimited time, money and patience for the
project, buy the "cheap" one. But if you want to
go cruising…
There is only one Silverheels and she's only
available to
one appreciative new owner. Thanks for looking.

Reef early,

Tor Pinney, author of “Ready for Sea! ~ How to
Outfit the Modern Cruising Sailboat” (Sheridan
House)

Exclusions

Items not listed above are not included in the
sale of this vessel, including but not limited
to: personal gear, tools, clothing, paintings,
photos, molas and other souvenirs, the small
portable boombox, laptops & accessories, etc.

Disclaimer

Details of this vessel are offered in good
faith, but the accuracy of this information and
the condition of the vessel are not guaranteed
or warranted. While efforts are made to keep
this listing up to date, information provided at
the time of listing is subject to change. A
prospective buyer should instruct his or her
agents and/or surveyors to investigate such
details as the buyer desires validated. This
vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price
change, or withdrawal without notice.